Applying for a planning permit for activities near water
Do you want to build a shed near water? Or construct a jetty? Then you may need an omgevingsvergunning voor een wateractiviteit – watervergunning (planning permit for activities near water). In some cases a permit is not required and a notification is sufficient. Or you must apply for an exemption.
Where you need to apply to for a permit for activities near water depends on where you are going to carry out your activity:
- Are you going to carry out activities in or near a ditch, stream, pond, dyke or road managed by a local water authority? If so, you must apply for a permit from your local water authority.
- Are you going to carry out activities at a highway, viaduct, tunnel, bridge, waterway or dyke that is managed by a province? Then you must apply for a permit or exemption from the province.
- Do you want to carry out an activity in or near a large river or lake, such as the Rhine, the Meuse or the IJsselmeer? Then you must apply for a permit from Rijkswaterstaat (executive agency of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management).
If you are not sure where you need to apply for a permit, contact the municipality where you intend to carry out your activity.
You may also need other permits for activities that you intend to carry out under other laws or regulations. One example is an omgevingsvergunning (planning permit). You can obtain information about this from the relevant municipality.
This is how it works for you
Here is some information from your province.
Water environmental permit
Undertaking activities or work near a dike or water? Want to discharge waste water? In that case, you may need an environmental permit for water activities. Sometimes, you only have to report or apply for an exemption.
To whom you must apply for an environmental permit for a water activity or report depends on where you will be working. If you are not sure what your activity falls under, contact the provincial authorities or the water board located in the area where you will be carrying out your activities.
You want to use groundwater, surface water or rainwater. The water environmental permit does not apply to tap water.
This is how you apply for a water environmental permit:
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Go to the online Omgevingsloket (in Dutch). This is the service counter for environmental and planning permits.
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Do the permit check. You will see whether you need to apply for an environmental permit, report or apply for an exemption. You can do this right away.
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Log in:
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for yourself: with DigiD
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on behalf of a company: eHerkenning
You apply for the water environmental permit via the Omgevingsloket. Reporting a water activity is also done via the Omgevingsloket.
The provincial authorities publish the decision within eight weeks of you submitting the application. The provincial authorities can extend this period by six weeks.
The decision period is six months if your activity (may) have a major impact on the environment. For instance, this is the case if you:
- want to discharge substances from an IPPC plant or a Seveso facility
- want to discharge substances from a cooling plant with a thermal power of more than 50 MW
- want to discharge the cleaning water after cleaning areas that contained substances of concern (e.g. storage tanks, tankers, etc.)
In those cases too, the provincial authorities can extend the period by six weeks within the first eight weeks of the application.
A draft decision is available for inspection for six weeks within the six-month period. During this period, you can respond in writing or verbally. After these six months, the provincial authorities will publish the application and the final permit and you can view it for six weeks.
In the case of an ordinary procedure, you object to the provincial authorities.
In the case of an extensive procedure, anyone can give their opinion (viewpoint) on the draft decision. You need to do this within 6 weeks. You do not agree with the outcome thereof? In that case, you can appeal through the courts. And appeal once more after that, if necessary.
If no response is received within the six-week appeal period, the permit is final.
Questions about this topic?
Contact the Province of Noord-Holland
Visiting address
Houtplein 33
2012DE Haarlem
| Monday | 08:00 - 18:00 |
| Tuesday | 08:00 - 18:00 |
| Wednesday | 08:00 - 18:00 |
| Thursday | 08:00 - 18:00 |
| Friday | 08:00 - 18:00 |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |